Woman Changes Her Legal Name For Facebook

Jemmaroid Von Laalaa was just a pseudonym on Facebook until being locked out of the social network led Jemma Rogers, Laalaa's real name, to legally change her identity. Five weeks later, Von Laalaa still does not have her account back.

Von Laalaa created her Facebook account in 2008, using the pseudonym to avoid unsolicited friend requests, as first reported by The Telegraph. In June, she received a message from the network that requested proper identification. Facebook suspended her account one day later, she said.

At first, Von Laalaa tried to photoshop her bank card. But when that failed to work, the 30-year-old holistic therapist from southeast London chose to legally change her name by deed poll. However, Von Laalaa remains locked out of her account. After sending over the new documents, Facebook replied with an automated response.

"I can't believe I'm stuck with this stupid name and I still can't get into my Facebook," Von Laalaa told The Telegraph. "It's hard to speak to a human being as well, all I get is computerized messages back, it's so frustrating."

Facebook's policy stipulates that a user account's name must be someone's "authentic identity," which can be the name on a formal identification or a nickname. "Real name does not mean your legal name," Zuckerberg told BuzzFeed in June. "Your real name is whatever you go by and what your friends call you."

As BuzzFeed notes, the execution of that policy has been met with criticism. The drag queen community began protesting against the policy in September 2014 after several members reported their accounts being blocked. Facebook Chief Product Officer Chris Cox issued a statement in October, saying "there's lots of room for improvement in the reporting and enforcement mechanisms."

But community members remain frustrated by the social network's apparent lack of commitment. During the San Francisco Pride Parade, marchers shouted "Shame on Facebook" and handed out campaign material with the hashtag #MyNameIs. Last week, a Change.org charged that law enforcement officers and their families should be allowed to use pseuodynms.